DURHAM – Duke rowing head coach Megan Cooke Carcagno has announced the team’s fall schedule for the 2023-24 season. The Blue Devils will compete in three regattas across three states in October and November.
The fall season begins Sunday, Oct. 8 in High Point, N.C., as Duke competes in the High Point Rowing Festival on Oak Hollow Lake.
The team then travels to Cambridge, Mass., to race against crews from around the world in the 58th Head of the Charles Regatta Oct. 20-22. Duke will race three boats, Women’s Club 4+, Women’s Championship 4+ and Women’s Championship 8+, along the historic three-mile course.
The Blue Devils wrap up the fall slate in Charlottesville, Va., at the Rivanna Romp Head Race Sunday, Nov. 12. Duke is set to make its 11th appearance at the annual event since 2006. Last season, the Blue Devils raced 11 boats, placing five in the top-10, including the Novice 8+ which claimed a first-place finish.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils rowing, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching “DukeROW”.
Clemson, S.C – Head Coach Stephen Frazier Wong is pleased to announce the addition of Amy Hildebrandt as Assistant Coach to the Clemson Rowing team.
“I am excited to welcome Amy to our staff and to the Clemson Family” said Stephen Frazier Wong. “Amy’s love of rowing and teaching student-athletes will fit in seamlessly here at Clemson Rowing as we pursue wins and stay true to our core values.”
Hildebrandt joins Clemson from Seattle Pacific University where she served as the Assistant Coach for six years. At Seattle Pacific, Hildebrandt led the Varsity 4+ to fourth place finishes in the Grand Final at the 2022 and 2023 NCAA and the 2023 GNAC Championship. In 2021 and 2022, she led the Varsity 4+ to place second in the GNAC Championship. In addition, she coached the JV8+, 2v8+, and Open 4+ to first place finishes in 2019 at WIRA Championship, Windermere Cup, and Central Oklahoma dual race.
While coaching at Seattle Pacific, Hildebrandt also coached the Lake Washington Rowing Club’s juniors and masters teams from 2013-2023. Before that, she served as the Assistant Juniors Coach at Eastside Preparatory School for two years, the Juniors Coach for the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club for one year and the Head Club Coach for Springfield College for two years.
She earned her bachelor’s in Business Administration from Pacific Lutheran University and her Masters of Science Exercise Physiology with a concentration in Wellness & Fitness from California University of Pennsylvania. Hildebrandt was a four year student athlete at Pacific Lutheran University from 2001- 2005. She made varsity the spring of her freshman year and raced at the NCAA Division II National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. Following her graduation, she returned to her alma mater as a Volunteer Assistant Women’s Coach for one year and then as Co-Head Men’s Coach for one year.
“I am very excited to join the Clemson rowing staff and be a part of the Tiger family,” said Coach Hildebrandt. “Moving from Seattle was definitely a big change, but has been a relatively smooth transition with help and support from everyone on staff. I’m looking forward to a great year and hopefully a return to the national stage.”
For complete coverage of the Clemson Rowing team follow @ClemsonRowing on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
The Boat Race Company Limited (BRCL) is delighted to announce the formal appointment of Siobhan Cassidy as Chair of the Board of BRCL, the company responsible for delivering The Boat Race. Siobhan has been acting as Interim Chair following the very sad death of former Chair Tim Senior earlier this year.
Siobhan has held several leadership positions within rowing, notably both Vice-Chair and Chair of Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club, for whom she won a Blue in 1995 whilst a graduate at Homerton College. Siobhan joined the BRCL board in 2018 and represented CUWBC and the newly integrated Cambridge University Boat Club as a Club Representative, and has served on various Committees.
Siobhan commented: “I am truly honoured to take on this role and continuing to work with colleagues to deliver The Boat Race on behalf of Oxford and Cambridge. As a young girl in the 1970’s I watched the wonderful coverage of the race on BBC TV, and the drama and sense of occasion inspired me to row. It is a privilege, and a significant responsibility, to be tasked with safeguarding the future of an event which has a unique place in Britain’s sporting and cultural heritage.”
STORY COURTESY UNC ATHLETICS | PHOTO BY JEFFREY CAMRATI
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Miranda Cyr and Gavin Kelley have joined the North Carolina rowing staff as assistant coaches, head coach Erin Neppel announced September 12. Cyr and Kelley bring unique experience and insights to their new positions.
“We’re all excited to welcome Miranda and Gavin to our program,” Neppel said. “They bring big energy and enthusiasm for what we are doing here, and both have already hit the ground running. We now have the largest coaching staff in our program’s history, which will enable us to better serve our student-athletes.”
Cyr will work primarily with the novice program and with the Tar Heel coxswains, both developing the current student-athletes and recruiting future ones. She comes to Chapel Hill after four years as a member of the Minnesota rowing program and a total of 13 years of competition as a coxswain. As a coxswain for the Golden Gophers, she raced in both fours and eights, coxing her boat to first in the women’s collegiate 8+ at the Head of the Mississippi Regatta. A native of Glastonbury, Conn., she has coxed at the Head of the Charles and the Canadian Henley. She is a 2023 graduate of Minnesota with a degree in sports management.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Tar Heel community,” Cyr said. “It’s amazing to be surrounded by a dedicated and talented coaching staff, allowing me to get going right away. I’m impressed by the grit and determination shown by the UNC coaches and athletes and I can’t wait to continue to push this momentum forward.”
Kelley brings experience coaching on the collegiate, club and prep levels. He comes to Carolina from Jacksonville University, where he coached the men’s team during the 2022-23 school year. He spent the summer of 2023 as an assistant coach for Cambridge Boat Club Juniors Team that captured five event titles at the 139th Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catherine’s, Ontario.
Kelley also has coached at Colby College (2021), Catholic University (2018-19) and Boston College (2013-15). A native of Holliston, Mass., he rowed at Marist, where he was part of back-to-back MAAC Championship teams. He earned gold medals as part of the 2V8 in 2010 and the Lightweight 4+ in both 2009 and 2010. He graduated in 2016 with a degree in History.
“I can’t imagine a better place to be,” Kelley said. “There is an understanding among the staff and the student-athletes of how important culture and behavior are to performance at the highest level. The team is hungry to work hard every day. It’s a joy to witness every time we practice.”
The 2023-24 season is the third at the program’s helm for Neppel, a UNC graduate. Cyr and Kelley join a staff that also includes assistant coaches Shayla Lamb and Edvina Nesukaityte, as well as Director of Rowing Operations John Leonard.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami head rowing coach James Mulcahy announced Thursday the hiring of three new members of his staff.
Michelle Etchebaster and Maydelissa Pinell are joining the program as assistant coaches, while Freya Portl will do so as a graduate student intern.
“We’re all very excited to welcome Michelle, Maydelissa and Freya to Miami rowing,” Mulcahy said. “Each brings with them a breadth of experience and excellent skillset that will complement the rest of our staff and help our athletes on and off the water. Go Canes!”
Etchebaster comes to Miami from nearby Barry University, where she spent one season as an assistant coach. She aided the Buccaneers to a second-place finish in the SSC during her lone year working at her alma mater.
A native of Argentina, Etchebaster has over 13 years of collegiate and international rowing experience, including spending 2013 and 2014 with her national team. The four-time Argentinian champion rowed at Barry from 2017-21.
Etchebaster served as the coach for the junior rowing team at Club Mendoza de Regatas in her home nation from 2014-15. She owns a master’s degree from Barry, where she also was a teaching and research assistant in the sport and exercise science department.
“First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to James Mulcahy for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to coach at this incredible institution,” Etchebaster said. “I am already familiar with the rowing culture here in South Florida and I am eager to do all I can to help elevate the program here at Miami to even greater heights.”
Pinell, who possesses numerous ties to the local community, spent the last four years as an assistant coach at NSU University School in Davie, Fla. There, she led coxswain development and curriculum, aiding the team to its first appearance in the USRowing Youth Nationals in 2023.
A four-year competitor at Nova Southeastern University from 2016-19, Pinell got her coaching start the season after completing her eligibility, working as a volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater in 2019-20. In 2017, she helped the Sharks place second in the SSC and win the team title at the FIRA Championships.
Hailing from nearby Hollywood, Fla., Pinell graduated from Hollywood Hills High School. She, in 2020, earned a degree from Nova Southeastern in exercise and sports science.
“As a native South Floridian, I am humbled for the opportunity to join the rowing program at The U,” Pinell said. “Thank you to James Mulcahy for giving me this incredible opportunity. I look forward to working closely with our novices and coxswains, and will do all I can to help them excel to the best of their abilities.”
Portl comes to the Hurricanes from Publicidad Virtual in Mexico City, where she worked as a commercial operation manager. She managed the day-to-day communication between the commercial, design and operation departments to facilitate the proper placement and approval of all advertising spaces across nine stadiums every week for clients in the Mexican soccer league, Liga MX.
Now at Miami, Portl will assist with social media and public promotion of the rowing team. She previously worked as a marketing intern at William Grant & Sons in Mexico City from February 2016 to May 2017, assisting with brand management.
Portl graduated from Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México (UIA) in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a 3.74 GPA. During her college tenure, she also did a foreign exhange marketing program at Université Jean Moulin in Lyon, France.
“I’m very grateful to be part of the rowing team at UM, assisting with social media content and brand marketing activities as a graduate student intern in sport administration,” Portl said. “I want to thank coach James Mulcahy for giving me this amazing opportunity. I’m looking forward to creating incredible content for the team.”
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s rowing team on social media, follow @CanesRowing on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The 2023 World Rowing Masters Regatta saw 308 races taking place on the Roodeplaat Dam, competed by 805 athletes. From the individual men’s and women’s age groups to the mixed events, the regatta had hugely competitive athletes mixed with virtual novice rowers through to former Olympians.
The first-ever World Rowing event in Africa was a huge success in Tshwane. Athletes, volunteers, organisers and spectators had unanimously a great experience on the shores of Roodeplaat Dam, with tremendous races during the day and great entertainment at night.
Ron Chen, chair of World Rowing’s Masters Commission, stated: “This was the first ever World Rowing event to take place on the continent of Africa. It is therefore fitting that it will be long remembered as a version of the World Rowing Masters Regatta that created a new model for hosting our regatta. The many beneficial lessons and examples we learned this year will certainly find their way into future versions of our regatta. It has been, quite simply, one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable experiences that the Masters Rowing Commission and others who have been loyal participants in this event over the years can remember.”
Keith McIvor, chair of the 2023 World Rowing Masters Regatta’s organising committee, added : “The Organising Committee of the World Masters Rowing Regatta 2023 set our objectives as the hosting of a world-class regatta fundamentally African in nature, to leave a legacy for rowing in South Africa, to positively impact the local community, to promote key stakeholder relationships and build enduring friendships. We have achieved all of those. South African Rowing has delivered an event that the Country can be proud of.”
The 308 races had rowers grouped by those nearest in age. The D men’s single sculls (44 to 49 years of age) had the most entries with 47 competitors.
The World Rowing Club Trophies were awarded on Saturday afternoon. For the men’s category, it was a great performance from Red Star Belgrade of Serbia, who won by more than 70 points over Victoria Lake of Gauteng, South Africa. But with their great performances on the women’s side – they won by nearly 100 points over Minas Brasilia Tenis Club of Brazil – Victoria Lake of South Africa took home both the women’s Club Trophy Award and the overall Club Trophy Award.
Notable participants this year included Olympic Champions James Thompson and Sizwe Ndlovu who raced in various events, on their home soil. To see the full list of results, click here.
Friday night, the members of the “Octos” were honoured. This group celebrates active rowers 80 years of age and older. Within this group, the oldest competitor of the regatta was Odilon Maia Martins from Brazil. Maia Martins is impressively still rowing at the age of 94 years old, within the M age category (89 years and over).
Next year, the 2024 World Rowing Masters Regatta will be held in Brandenburg, Germany, from 11 to 15 September 2024. For more information about the regatta, please click here.
Sunday, September 10th, saw the running of the fourth annual Head of the Ponds regatta on beautiful Mashpee-Wakeby Pond on Cape Cod. Founded during the pandemic year of 2020, and proudly proclaimed by the regatta organizers as the #1 regatta in the country (because it was the only regatta in the country), the Head of the Ponds has grown to be a well-established and highly regarded regatta known for its demanding complexity. Said regatta chair, Heri Sontgerath, “The Head of the Ponds is not for the faint of heart.”
The Head of the Ponds is considered by those who have dared to row it as the most challenging racecourse in the country. “In rowing terms it’s a proverbial marathon.” commented this year’s Men’s Single champion and three time Olympian, Jim Dietz. “It’s like rowing the Head of the Charles, turning around and rowing it again!” In addition to the distance, the Head of the Ponds can prove to be a navigational nightmare as competitors traverse two lakes – “kettle ponds” to the cognoscenti – which are connected by a 500 meter passage and which rowers have to locate while rowing backwards! Once through the passage, competitors then circumnavigate three uninhabited islands and an obelisk of a peninsula before heading back through the passage on to the finish line. Given the challenging nature of the racecourse, competitors are required to have prior head racing experience in a major US regatta in a single or in the bow of a double or quad. Charting a course with the flexibility of an owl is a definite benefit.
Head of the Ponds racecourse
Proving once again that age has no boundaries (while the rest of us are in denial), Jim Dietz in his 60th year of rowing won the Men’s Single with a raw time of 35:49 and an adjusted time of 28:55. Molly Tyson, rowing for the Duxbury Bay Maritime School, won the Women’s Single with an equally impressive, adjusted time of 32:47. Gayle Simmons and Jeanine Boyle took honors in the Women’s Double with an adjusted time of 37:55, and in the fastest net time of the day, Ed Geyh and Alden Bumstead seared the racecourse like a porterhouse steak in a near-record adjusted time of 28:47.
The Head of the Ponds is a volunteer effort with 100% of the net proceeds donated to local organizations including the Wampanoag Native American tribe in Southeastern Massachusetts for whom Mashpee-Wakeby Pond is a centerpiece of their ancestral land and carries cultural and spiritual significance, and the Save Mashpee-Wakeby Pond Alliance.
Pictured Below: Coveted trophies for first, second and third in the Head of the Ponds.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Claire Ochal, The Friends of Radcliffe Rowing Head Coach for Women’s Heavyweight Crew, has announced the hiring of Hannah Woodruff and Dan Harrison as assistant coaches. The duo will arrive in Cambridge in time for the start of the 2023-24 campaign, which is set to begin in October with the Head of the Charles Regatta.
“Hannah brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our squad here at Harvard-Radcliffe,” Ochal said. “Hannah’s recruiting skills and time spent on the Charles will have an immediate impact on our program. I am looking forward to working alongside such a talented coach and even better person.
“We are equally excited to welcome Dan to our program,” Ochal added. “Dan brings a lot of experience in developing athletes into championship-caliber rowers. I know that Dan will impact the team both on and off the water.”
Woodruff will make the short trip to Harvard from Boston University where she spent six seasons as an assistant coach.
“I’m excited to work with the team at Radcliffe,” Woodruff said. “This program has such a rich legacy, and I’m looking forward to helping Claire guide the team into a new era.”
During her time on Commonwealth Ave., Woodruff helped the Terriers become a force in the Patriot League. In her first three full seasons (2019-20 was interrupted due to the pandemic), Woodruff helped every BU boat make the grand final at the Patriot League Championships, while recording top-5 finishes in each of those campaigns (2018: runner-up, 2019: fourth place, 2021: third place). BU’s breakthrough came in 2022, as Woodruff tutored the 2V8 to its first-ever gold medal and helped the Terriers capture their second Patriot League team title and first since 2014. That same season, Boston University advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time since ’14 and finished in 19th place. This past season, Woodruff once again led the Terrier 2V8 to a gold medal at the conference meet, with BU coming in second place despite tying for first in team points.
Prior to joining the Boston University coaching staff, Woodruff served as an assistant coach at Wellesley College for four seasons, leading the second varsity eight boat. In 2015-16, the 2V8 earned gold medals at the New England Rowing Championships (NERC) and the National Invitational Rowing Championship (NIRC), before capturing silver at the NCAA Division III Championships. As a team, Wellesley won the 2016 NCAA Division III team title, with the coaching staff being named the Division III Staff of the Year. A season later, Woodruff, helped the 2V8 win bronze at the NERC and NIRC, and another silver at NCAAs.
Woodruff, who has also served as an assistant coach at Community Rowing Inc., Boston College High School and Cambridge Boat Club, was a four-year coxswain at Wellesley and named a team co-captain as a senior. In 2011, Woodruff helped the 1V8 finish in third place at the ECAC, NERC and NCAA Championships, while earning second-team CRCA All-America accolades. A two-time CRCA National Scholar-Athlete (2010, 2011), Woodruff graduated cum laude from Wellesley College in 2011, with degrees in economics and history.
Harrison returns to the Boston area for the first time since 2014-15, and brings a wealth of experience from stops within the Big Ten and Pac-12 Conferences.
“I am incredibly grateful and excited to join the Harvard-Radcliffe Women’s Rowing program,” Harrison said. “Radcliffe has an incredible history and tradition of rowing excellence, and I believe the team is poised to continue finding success in the Ivy League and NCAA. There are few places as special as the Charles to row, and I am looking forward to working with Coach Ochal and Coach Woodruff to help create a positive and formative experience for the women who row for Radcliffe.”
Harrison will join the Black and White after serving as an assistant coach at Oregon State in 2022-23, which marked his third stint in Corvallis. Originally a volunteer in 2013, Harrison rejoined the Beavers staff as an assistant in the fall of 2015, working with the Oregon State novice program.
In between his first and second appointments with the Beavers, Harrison was a volunteer assistant coach at BU in 2014-15, working with the Terriers’ developmental boats. During his time in New England, he also served as an assistant coach to the varsity boys’ program at Wayland-Weston Rowing Association, helping with fitness and technique training plans.
In the spring of 2017, Harrison left Oregon State for Ohio State, joining the Buckeyes as a volunteer coach. During his time in Columbus, Harrison coached the 1V4 to a third-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Championships before leaving for a graduate assistant coach role at Michigan in Aug. 2017.
Harrison’s first season in Ann Arbor resulted in the Wolverines recording a seventh-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships behind the performance of their four All-Americans. In the fall of 2018, Harrison was elevated to a full-time assistant coach, working with Michigan’s novice rowers.
The Wolverines’ novice boats thrived under Harrison’s watch as the 1N8 captured two Big Ten gold medals (2019, 2021), with the 2N8 earning a bronze in 2019 and a silver in 2021. As a team, Michigan won conference championships in 2019 and 2021, while coming in third (2019) and fourth place (2021) at the NCAA Championships. The accomplishments of the 2019 squad helped the Wolverines coaching staff earn CRCA Region 4 Staff-of-the-Year accolades.
Before jumping into the coaching profession, Harrison rowed for four seasons at Seattle University as part of its club team. Harrison served as club president for three years and was chosen as the “Top Hawk” his senior year by his coaches, recognizing him as the club’s top performer. On the water, Harrison raced his way to consecutive Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships (2012, 2013) and captured the 2013 American Collegiate Rowing Association national title in the pair.
A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Harrison graduated from Seattle in 2013, with a bachelor’s degree in sport and exercise science. He also completed a one-year coaching education program in 2015, at the Institute for Rowing Leadership, which is designed to give fellows the necessary theoretical framework and experiential learning opportunities to achieve the knowledge, skills and abilities required of a master rowing coach.
